AMTRAK RELEASES NEW TIMETABLE
Amtrak has released the winter-spring Amtrak System Timetable, effective with departures beginning Monday, Jan. 14. They note, "Major updates include the recently launched services including the Amtrak Virginia Northeast Regional service to Norfolk, Va., the extension of Downeaster service to Freeport and Brunswick, Maine, and the new Amtrak Thruway bus service in Eastern North Carolina. In addition, Amtrak recently announced the addition of a new weekday Acela Express round-trip between New York and Washington, D.C. beginning on Jan. 28." The winter-spring timetable cover features a conductor greeting passengers boarding a Northeast Regional train at sunrise at the historic Manassas, Va. station.
Lovely picture. That's Amtrak Train 50, the eastbound Cardinal, en route from Chicago to New York, due at the Manassas, VA, station at 4:46 pm, and the picture was taken in the evening, probably at about 6:15-6:30 pm, since it was taken in mid-October. The train is lit from the west, which indicates the setting sun; those hills in the background are the east side of the Shenandoah Valley. At this location, the train is pointed almost due East, so a rising sun would be behind the photographer.
ReplyDeleteThere's been some PhotoShopping, of course. Here's the original photo, taken on Oct. 14, 2011, and posted to a railfan website: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=382028&nseq=11
The woman in the red shirt is gone, replaced by the freight cars in the distance, and as seen in this photo on the same website. The man on the platform is also a bit slimmer in the finished product on the cover of the Timetable: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=378030&nseq=12
Thanks for your comment, and your expertise! We used the illustration from the Amtrak press release for this post. I take it you are a seasoned train traveler, right? It's a great way to see this wonderful country of ours. -- Gerry
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! This is great for people, like myself, who have a fear of flying. I would choose taking the train in the US over flying any day! Now you can actually travel the whole United States via train, its wonderful!
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